This opera is presented to commemorate Chinese Opera doyen Joanna Wong's 60th anniversary of her active involvement in promoting Cantonese Opera. A household name in the Chinese Opera circle, Joanna Wong, an exponent of Cantonese Opera, is best noted for her success in reviving Cantonese Opera when this artform almost disappeared from the local cultural scene in the 1960s. An accomplished performer with an inexhaustible repertoire, she is also an excellent mentor and tutor. She has nurtured and groomed many Cantonese Opera artists to take centrestage. Most of those active in the Cantonese Opera scene today are either her disciples or have been under her tutelage at one time or another.

This opera "Woman Emperor Wu Ce Tian" tells the story of how Wu Ce Tian, an Emperor's concubine successfully schemed to seize the throne and establish her own kingdom of Zhou within the Tang dynasty (AD 608 - 907). She was the first and only woman Emperor in the history of China. In this colourful historical opera, written by Mr Norman Cheung, a homegrown Cantonese Opera playwright, Joanna Wong, the first woman to win the Cultural Medallion for her contributions and achievements in Chinese Opera in 1981, plays the lead role of Wu Ce Tian, partnering renowned Cantonese Opera artist from Guangzhou Mr Au Khai Ming, winner of the prestigious Plum Blossom Award in China.